39 of 40A sharp Fiat cabrio, one of about a dozen at Tutto this year alone.

Photo by Jay Ramey

40 of 40Here's a rare US-spec Lancia Scorpion.

Photo by Jay Ramey

Every year hundreds of Italian cars descend upon the Boston area's Larz Anderson Auto Museum, for it's most popular event of the summer, Tutto Italiano. This annual event draws cars and visitors from all over New England, and each year the event seems to attract more and more people. Not only do visitors get to see hundreds of rare supercars, but they also get a look at some less heroic but no less interesting cars that they've probably never seen before.

This year's Tutto Italiano welcomed what seemed to be the biggest crowds in the last five years of the show, and the turnout of cars was excellent. As was the weather, with sunny skies and relatively low humidity. Not only did we get to see upwards of a hundred Ferraris, but some bread and butter automobiles as well, like Alfa Romeo sedans from the 1960s. About the only contingents that experienced lower turnouts this year were classic Fiat sedans and classic Maseratis, as we were hoping to see some rare Biturbo variants. Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the highlights from last weekend.

A wonderful De Tomaso Pantera. Photo by Jay Ramey

Here's a sharp De Tomaso Pantera from 1975, owned by Vihn Ly. This is one of several Panteras that appeared at Tutto Italiano this year, and every year we see upwards of a dozen of these rare beasts at the show from all years of manufacture. A Pantera GTS made the trip to Tutto Italiano this year as well, a 1974 example owned by Robert Weston.

This one appeared to be original throughout. Photo by Jay Ramey

One of our favorites this year was this lovely Alfa Romeo 1750 from 1971, driven to the show by Dino Carbone. The 1750 Berlina was made from 1967 till 1977, and was based on the Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan. Mechanically, the car is pretty similar to the 1750 GTV and Spider, but it was obviously a bit larger than the Giulia sedan which it replaced. The 1750 used a twin-carburetted 1.8-liter engine good for about 116 horsepower, but all US models received SPICA fuel injection. Needless to say, it's pretty hard to find one of these in the U.S. now, and one has to dig deep in Alfa Romeo clubs to discover an example.

Here's a sharp Alfa 2000GTV. Photo by Jay Ramey

This was a very nicely presented Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV from 1972. This one has been modified with a roll bar for time trials by its owner, Rich O'Day. Every year we see about a dozen of these popular coupes at Tutto Italiano, in almost every color.

A rare sight on our shores, an Autobianchi A112. Photo by Jay Ramey

And here's a car we didn't expect to see at all, a modified Autobianchi A112 from 1980. This example belongs to Patrick Leahy. Designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, the A112 had quite a long life span, entering production in 1969 and remaining on sale through 1986. The A112 replaced the tiny Bianchina, and used a number of small displacement inline-four engines through the years. Closely related to the Fiat 127 which appeared a few years after the A112 went into production, the A112 even served as the base for an Abarth version.

This Fiat has been modified a bit. Photo by Jay Ramey

Here's another diminutive car we don't often see, a Fiat 850 Vignale Coupe. A rare car to see outside of Italy, this version of the car was bodied by Vignale using the basic Fiat 850 as a platform. This one isn't exactly original all around, with aftermarket wheels and very loud graphics to communicate to other people in traffic just what it is, but we liked this color combination and it cheerful looks.

One of several 164 sedans at Tutto this year. Photo by Jay Ramey

One of just a handful of Alfa Romeo 164Ls at Tutto Italiano this year, this was an example from 1991. One of Alfa Romeo's last cars to sell in the U.S. before its withdrawal from the North American market, and the most modern, the 164L was produced from 1987 till 1998 and shared its platform with the Saab 9000 and the Lancia Thema (which we wouldn't mind seeing in the U.S. one of these days). Alfa Romeo wasn't exactly gaining market share as the 164 was introduced, but these have survived quite well, considering how few were originally sold in North America. This example is owned by Steven Plasse.

An early Testarossa. Photo by Jay Ramey

Here's a car that needs no introduction, an early-model Ferrari Testarossa with the high-mounted mirror which was only available on the car fom 1984 till 1987. We think it's pretty safe to say that Ferraris easily outnumbered all other marques present at Tutto Italiano this year, and there were plenty of examples from almost every decade of Ferrari production. This one was perhaps our favorite out of all of them this year, though it wasn't the rarest or most valuable Ferrari at the show.

An early Spider in a rare color. Photo by Jay Ramey

Another model that always turns out in number is of course the Alfa Romeo Spider. Just as every year, we got to see a full anthology of Spiders, from the earliest curvy examples like this one all the way through to the latest Spider Veloces from the 1990s. This one caught our attention due to its rare color (when was the last time you saw one that wasn't red or black?) as well as its excellent condition. The Spider is still one of the easiest ways to get into classic Alfa ownership, and there are plenty of examples on the market from every decade of production. Admittedly, it's hard to find an early example like this one.

That's it for Tutto Italiano this year. Well, almost, as the museum will host Tutto Lite later in the fall. We'll stop by, as always.